Tag: GOP wealthcare

3 Things You Need to Know About Trump’s Tax Plan

The following was posted on the TrumpAccountable.org website October 5, 2017:

The Trump Tax Plan is gaining steam and momentum even as natural disasters and the horrific events of this weekend in Las Vegas have changed the national dialogue. Here are three things you need to be watching on taxes:

Growth Projections and Deficit – In addition to the disastrous outcome of the Kansas/Brownback tax cut disaster, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget argues that there is no way that tax cuts will pay for themselves and that lowering taxes will lead to more deficit spending. “Past tax cuts in 1981 and the early 2000s have led to widening budget deficits and lower revenue, not the reverse as some claim.” Increased deficits represent a significant challenge to the U.S. economy and any tax plans advanced by the Republicans need to help reduce the deficit. Continue reading “3 Things You Need to Know About Trump’s Tax Plan”

Republicans Face Messaging Battle on Tax Overhaul

The following article by Joe Williams was posted on the Roll Call website October 4, 2017:

Health care defeat spurs heightened awareness of the upcoming messaging battle on taxes

Speaker Paul D. Ryan, Senate Finance Chairman Orrin G. Hatch and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have unveiled a framework for their tax measure and already face a messaging battle. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

The messaging battle over a pending overhaul of the U.S. tax code has begun. And while Republicans say they feel confident they will overcome the opposition this time around, a lingering defeat on health care continues to concern proponents.

The administration and congressional GOP leaders last week unveiled a framework for the still unreleased tax legislation. It immediately set off a cascade of reaction — positive and negative — as Republicans labeled it a middle-class tax break and Democrats called it a giveaway for the rich.

It is round two of a clash over the major tenets of the GOP agenda. Continue reading “Republicans Face Messaging Battle on Tax Overhaul”

Republicans Are Reconsidering Full Repeal of State and Local Tax Deduction

The following article by Alan Rappeport and Jim Tankersley was posted on the New York Times website October 3, 2017:

Representative Kevin Brady, Republican of Texas and chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, acknowledged that full repeal of the popular state and local tax deduction would be a “nonstarter” with many Republicans in Congress. Credit Al Drago for The New York Times

WASHINGTON — Republican leaders are backing away from a proposal to fully repeal an expensive tax break used by more than 40 million tax filers to deduct state and local taxes amid pushback from fellow lawmakers whose residents rely on the popular provision.

The state and local tax deduction is estimated to cost $1.3 trillion over the next decade and its repeal is central to paying for a sweeping tax rewrite unveiled last week by Republican lawmakers and administration officials. But elimination of the provision has emerged as a flash point in the nascent debate over the plan, with Republicans in high-tax states worried about backlash from residents who could see their tax bills rise. Continue reading “Republicans Are Reconsidering Full Repeal of State and Local Tax Deduction”

Will Trump’s tax cuts profit Trump?

The following post by the Editorial Board was posted on the Washington Post website October 1, 2017:

Then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, center, accompanied by his daughter Ivanka and son Eric in Washington on Oct. 26, 2016. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

PRESIDENT TRUMP probably was untruthful when he insisted last week that his tax plan “is not good for me.” We can’t be certain, because Mr. Trump is asking us to take his word on the matter; he won’t release his tax returns. He is the first president in modern times, in fact, to so refuse. Before last week, questions centered on what his tax records might show about his connections, if any, to Russia. Now Mr. Trump has himself posed another crucial question: whether he is pushing tax cuts that could profit him and his family to the tune of millions of dollars.

This is no idle speculation. Though vague on crucial aspects, such as how to pay for it, Mr. Trump’s tax reform outline contains several specific proposals that would help the wealthy. The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center released Friday an analysis showing that, by 2027, the GOP tax plan would provide massive benefits to upper-income taxpayers even as it smacked large sections of the middle class with a net tax hike. Continue reading “Will Trump’s tax cuts profit Trump?”

Ryan won’t guarantee every middle-class person will get a tax cut under Trump proposal

The following article by Rebecca Savransky was posted on the Hill website October 1, 2017:

Speaker Paul Ryan
© Greg Nash

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Sunday wouldn’t guarantee that every middle-class person would get a tax cut under President Trump’s tax reform proposal.

“That’s the purpose of doing this,” Ryan said on CBS’s “Face The Nation.” “The purpose of this is to get a middle-class tax cut.”

Ryan was pressed on whether that was a guarantee that every middle-class person would get a tax cut under the president’s plan. Continue reading “Ryan won’t guarantee every middle-class person will get a tax cut under Trump proposal”

GOP tax plan would provide major gains for richest 1%, uneven benefits for the middle class, report says

The following article by Carolyn Y. Johnson was posted on the Washington Post website September 29, 2017:

The Republican tax plan would deliver a major benefit to the top 1 percent of Americans, according to a new analysis by a leading group of nonpartisan tax experts that challenges the White House’s portrayal of its effects.

The plan would deliver far-more-modest tax cuts to most other households — an average cut of $1,700 for households in 2027, according to the report. But the results would be unevenly spread, with 1 in 4 households paying more in taxes. Continue reading “GOP tax plan would provide major gains for richest 1%, uneven benefits for the middle class, report says”

Trump aides sell tax plan with Pinocchio-laden claims

The following article by Glenn Kessler was posted on the Washington Post website September 29, 2017:

The wealthiest Americans pay the largest proportion of taxes. Consequently, any tax cut, unless very carefully tailored, will benefit them. (Meg Kelly/The Washington Post)

“The wealthy are not getting a tax cut under our plan.”
— Gary Cohn, director of the White House Economic Council, in an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Sept. 28, 2017

“The numbers are about a trillion and a half to the baseline. But more importantly, it’s a trillion dollars to policy, which is the right way of looking at it. We think there will be $2 trillion of growth. So we think this tax plan will cut down the deficits by a trillion dollars.”
— Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, in an interview on Fox News, Sept. 28 Continue reading “Trump aides sell tax plan with Pinocchio-laden claims”

Trump’s plutocracy problem complicates push for tax cuts

The following article by James Hohmann with Breanne Deppisch and Joanie Greve was posted on the Washington Post website September 26, 2017:

Here are key moments from the speech President Trump gave on tax policy proposals in Mandan, N.D., Sept. 6. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)

THE BIG IDEA: Two in three Americans believe that large corporations pay too little in taxes. Only 11 percent of U.S. adults think these businesses pay too much, while 17 percent think they pay their fair share. Even half of Republicans believe big businesses pay too little in taxes, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Overwhelmingly, across party lines, people feel that the current tax system is rigged in favor of the wealthy. Over 7 in 10 Americans think the tax system favors the rich. Just five percent think the current code favors the middle class. Continue reading “Trump’s plutocracy problem complicates push for tax cuts”

Medical groups urge lawmakers to reject Graham-Cassidy bill

The following article by Max Greenwood was posted on the Hill website September 23, 2017:

Medical groups urge lawmakers to reject Graham-Cassidy bill
© Greg Nash
Leading medical associations are calling on lawmakers to reject Republicans’ latest attempt to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

In a statement issued Saturday, several doctor and hospital trade groups, including the American Medical Association and the Federation of American Hospitals said that the bill introduced by Sens. Lindsey Graham(R-S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) ultimately falls short of key benchmarks, weakening patient protections and the individual insurance market.

Continue reading “Medical groups urge lawmakers to reject Graham-Cassidy bill”

Sen. Cassidy’s misleading claim that preexisting-conditions ‘protection is absolutely the same’

The following article by Glenn Kessler was posted on the Washington Post website September 23, 2017:

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel attacked the Cassidy-Graham health-care plan on Sept. 19 and 20, and hit back at Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) for failing his own standard, “the Kimmel test.” (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

“We protect those with preexisting conditions. … The protection is absolutely the same. There’s a specific provision that says that if a state applies for a waiver, it must ensure that those with preexisting conditions have affordable and adequate coverage.”
— Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), interviewed on CNN’s “New Day,” Sept. 20, 2017

In the dispute between late-night host Jimmy Kimmel and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), one of the key authors of the long-shot GOP effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, a key issue is whether the proposal maintains the ACA’s guarantee that people with preexisting condition can obtain health insurance. Continue reading “Sen. Cassidy’s misleading claim that preexisting-conditions ‘protection is absolutely the same’”